“Let go of her Tae.” Jimin could barely conceal his contempt for Taehyung right now. It wasn’t long after he’d walked away that he’d suddenly been ambushed by two of Taehyung’s men. He'd been so shocked that they’d nearly got the drop on him. However, Jimin always carried his sword and his draw time was among the fastest and most agile in the land. Once he’d sliced through the two Samurai, which took far longer than he’d have liked, he ran straight back for the princess hoping the feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t right. It didn’t take long for him to hear of the King’s death in passing as fighting broke out around the castle. It had been a complete ambush, they’d been blindsided, and no one had been the wiser. 

There wasn’t much Jimin could do at this point. Taehyung’s men were all already inside the castle, and even though Jimin had thought it odd that Taehyung had brought so many with him to begin with, he hadn’t thought something like this would’ve happened. Not in his entire lifetime. No matter how out of character Taehyung had been acting lately, he had never expected him to do such a treacherous thing. How could he? How could he do that to the princess?            

 

“Jimin,” Taehyung mused, turning to face him and yanking the princess into his hold again. “Hmm. You got here faster than I expected. Then again, I’m not surprised. You’ve always been blessed with a talent for the sword.” It was as Taehyung spoke Jimin glimpsed him taking something shiny from inside his robe, and Jimin grimaced as he realised it was a knife. Miyu, who’d been struggling, stopped as she felt the sharp tip of the knife firmly press to the skin of her neck. 

“Taehyung,” she couldn’t believe what was happening and her voice shook as she said his name. Desperation overwhelmed her, and tears stung the corners of her eyes. He was holding a knife to . One wrong move, and she’d be dead. And to think it was at the hands of the one she loved more than anyone in this world was incomprehensible. 

But, as she saw Jimin firmly standing there, unwavering in his determination to save her, it was the only hope she could cling to. “Miyu, I need you to stay really still for me, okay?” Jimin’s gaze flickered back and forth between her and Taehyung as he slowly, carefully, edged forward to calm her down. But Taehyung gave an exaggerated sigh. “Are you really willing to risk her life like that? This isn’t one of those games we used to play as kids, Jimine. Which, by the way, I won.” 

 

"You're right, the only reason you won was because I let you. This isn’t the same thing at all.” And it only took an instant for the princess to catch the small wink Jimin gave her. This was the small wink they’d used as a signal to foil Taehyung’s plans when they were younger. She didn’t know if it would work. Her mind was racing so fast that she had no time to think. However, in that moment she threw all her trust in Jimin and slammed her elbow back into Taehyung’s stomach, causing him to falter for the slightest of moments. But that was all Jimin needed as he lunged forward, sword raised, and rushed in fast in Taehyung’s direction. 

The princess was flung aside as Taehyung drew his own sword just in time for it to collide with Jimins. The sharp sound of blades grinding against each other echoed through the room as the two stood at a standstill, neither easing up the pressure of their blades. The princess watched on in utter shock as Taehyung’s stern expression softened, and he laughed. 

“Jiminie, you know she’ll never feel the same way you do-” Taehyung was cut off as Jimin moved swiftly, drawing back and moving in to strike again. “Just shut up Taehyung. Don’t act like you care about her feelings. You just killed her father.” Jimin bitterly retorted. The sharp sound each time their blades reflected off each other felt like small cuts being slashed into the princess's heart. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, how seriously they were fighting. One of them could be injured, or even killed, at any moment. The more tears she shed, the more anger bloomed within her. She didn’t know where it stemmed from, but as she watched on at them fighting, it brought back flashbacks of all the times they’d bickered among themselves. It made her so mad. After everything they’d been through, how had it come to this? 

The princess gathered what little strength she had left and without Taehyung or Jimin noticing, she grabbed a pillow off her bed. Without thinking, she flung it right at Taehyung, bouncing off his head and dropping to the floor. The two of them stopped, straightened up, and stared right at her. “I hate you Taehyung, I hate you so much.” The princess yelled at him through choked up sobs. Taehyung’s brows furrowed in a pained expression, but in that moment Jimin seized the distraction the princess had caused and swung one more time. But Taehyung moved fast, blocking the strike. As his sword deflected, it cut into Jimin’s side, and he stumbled back, his hand flinching to hold the place he’d been injured. The red of his blood covered Jimin’s hand as he opened his palm, but Jimin recomposed himself and stood up to face his opponent.

 

A loud explosion sounded, and the room shook violently. The princess fell back to the floor. Then, as though the entire castle was under attack, a large beam from the ceiling crashed to the floor. Disorientating and separating all three of them. The princess could barely breathe or see anything through the dust of the debris, but as muscular arms wrapped around her waist, she knew immediately that they were Jimins. “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” Jimin questioned, but when the princess shook her head, he didn’t waste anymore time and helped her to her feet. 

“Jimin, but, you..” Miyu was reminded of how he’d been sliced merely moments ago at the pained hiss he’d let out trying to help her up, but he forced a smile. “I’m fine. I promise. It’s not that deep. We can worry about that later. First we need to get out of here.” Jimin’s grip around her waist tightened, and he held firmly onto her as he made his way forward. The two of them crawled through a part of the wall that’d caved in during the explosion and concealed themselves behind the building as they made their escape. At first, the princess wasn’t sure where they were going, or how they were planning to get out of there. But as she saw a familiar tree come into view, she realized. 

 

“Never thought this would come in handy.” Jimin winced as he pulled up the wooden slab at the base of the tree that concealed a doorway. It led to an underground tunnel that they’d used as kids many years ago, and it led out into the forest, just beyond the castle grounds. Without hesitation, Miyu crawled in first, and Jimin followed closely behind her, securing the slab of wood back in place to avoid raising any suspicions. He didn’t think Taehyung would even remember the tunnel here, but he didn’t want to take any chances and ushered the princess along in front of him. 

The two of them crawled in mostly silence as they left the horrors of what had taken place in the castle behind, and what had happened to her father behind. In shock, Miyu's mind was clouded. The small rocks and twigs on the soil beneath her knees had started to hurt some time ago, but she pushed through it, right until they came to the very end of the tunnel. “Wait, let me go first.” Jimin held onto her and maneuvered himself past her. Given the small space they had, he almost forgot seeing as the last time they were down here they were both much smaller. 

Miyu felt her heart flutter at how close Jimin’s body was pressed against her own as he practically lifted her onto his lap. But she was brought back to her senses as she watched him roll over the stone that blocked the opening and cautiously poke his head out to look. 

Jimin left only briefly, just to make sure they were in the clear, and that no one was waiting for them in the forest nearby. Once he was as sure as he could be, he went back to retrieve her and the two made their way through the forest, and after they’d ventured past the densest point, and Jimin was certain they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be easily found, he collapsed against a nearby tree with a groan. 

“Jimin,” the princess collapsed beside him, and only now that they had a moment to rest did she notice the red stain on his white shirt. “I’m fine-” Jimin began to say, but Miyu knew better. “No, no, you’re not. Please, just let me take a look..”

Jimin’s heart melted at seeing how worriedly she was looking at him, and even though he truly was braving through the pain, he couldn’t keep it up much longer. “Alright,” He gave in, loosening his grip on her hand that he’d grabbed to stop her. 

Miyu reached and lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing Jimin’s toned lower stomach, but as the princess’s gaze wandered to his side, she saw the wound. It didn’t appear to be deep and perhaps Jimin hadn’t been lying about that, but it was still quite serious and needed to be tended to. “How badly does it hurt? Be honest,” Miyu mumbled, and as her finger trailed a little closer, his wince gave it away.

 

“Ah, it hurts.. But.. It’s really not that bad. It’ll heal within a few weeks..” Jimin turned his head, looking up from his wound to the princess, but felt a lump catch in his throat at how close their faces had become. She also had been caught off guard. The two froze for a moment, but as she saw Jimin’s tongue dart out and run over his bottom lip it was all too close for comfort and she pulled away, unable to hide her fluster at the thought of it. Jimin was handsome, unbelievably so. He was strong yet gentle, kind and sweet. His lips were plump and she had to try to convince herself that she wasn’t in her right mind and that there was no way that kissing Jimin in that moment was the right thing to do. He’d probably push her off and ask her what the hell she was doing, and so she willed herself to stand up. 

 

“Just wait here. I’m going to try to find some things to clean up your cut.” And before Jimin could protest, she’d taken off into the woods. He wanted to chase after her, but as he tried to stand, pain seared through his side and he just couldn’t. So instead, he sighed and rested his head back against the tree and cursed himself. Damn it, you should’ve just kissed her. Why didn’t you? He thought to himself. 

 

Meanwhile, the princess headed towards the faint sound of rushing water that could be heard throughout the trees, and eventually she came upon a stream. And after searching around for a short time, she found a good-sized piece of bark that could be used as a bowl. So, she scooped up some water and made her way back to where Jimin was, hoping she might clean up his wound for the time being, until she could properly think of what to do next. She still had no idea, but this would have to do for now. 

 

Jimin sat up a bit at the sight of the princess’ return. He asked upon seeing the wooden bowl in her hands. “I found a stream not too far from here and was able to collect some water.” She told him as she knelt by his side. It surprised Jimin at how conveniently she’d brought back something to clean his wound with. He couldn’t help but to feel endeared at seeing her fumble with his shirt as she tried to lift it. “Here, I’ll hold it.” Jimin flashed her the smallest of smiles as he pulled the hem of his shirt for her. She gave a small gulp before proceeding to pour water over the gash. But it was working. It washed away the red stains of blood so they could both see the cut more clearly. 

The princess examined it for a moment before a thought crossed her mind, and as she reached for the bottom of her nightgown and ripped it, Jimin startled. “Wait, what’re you doing?!” He grabbed her hand to stop her, but she shook him off. “We need to wrap it up, otherwise..” she began, but Jimin shook his head. “No, no. You’re royalty. I couldn’t..” but as his gaze wandered from where she’d already torn her nightgown apart, his words got lost at the sight of her exposed thigh. In an attempt to dispel any sinful thoughts, he glanced down to her knees, only to see they’d become cut and bloody from having the crawl across the ground and his heart felt heavy with guilt.

“I don’t think I’m exactly a princess anymore Jimin..” Miyu gave a chuckle and as it became apparent just how dirty and disheveled they’d both become in their escape, he understood what she meant. But, it wasn’t just that, and even though her father’s death had escaped them for just a moment, the harsh reality they were met with hit hard again. 

“Of course you are..” Jimin mumbled, but the princess didn’t care about his protest and continued to pull off a section at the bottom of her gown. Jimin stayed quiet and leaned forward as he let Miyu secure the fabric around him and cover his wound. Afterward, Jimin took the remaining water and forced Miyu to stay still while he cleaned her knees. He refused to listen when she insisted she was fine, and in the end, the princess was left with no choice but to sit still while Jimin gently rubbed water over the minor cuts. She almost got lost in the sight of him, hair falling over his face as he focused. Once he was done, the two of them sat in silence, until Miyu finally spoke.

“So, what do we do now..?” Jimin could feel the sadness in her voice, and it hurt him. This entire situation hurt him, but most of all, seeing the princess lose everything hurt the most. Neither of them knew exactly what to do, but one thing was clear. Jimin needed to find a doctor of some kind and get medicine, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to heal properly, and he needed to find somewhere safe for him and the princess to go. By now he was sure Taehyung would send out men to come and find them, and the last thing he needed was to run into them in this state. 

 

“There’s a shaman who apparently lives in these woods somewhere. I think we need to find him.” Jimin said. “Really? Wait, you don’t mean..” Miyu questioned, trying to recall if she’d heard of such a person. But the person who she’d heard rumors about gave her goosebumps to think about. 

“Yeah. That one.” Was all Jimin said, and the two exchanged a weary glance. “I don’t know Jimin.. isn’t he supposed to be into witchcraft and stuff.. Why in the world would he want to help us..” The princess bit at her lip, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“I don’t think we have any other choice. Besides, how bad can it be? Maybe he’s just some crazy old guy who lives in a hut? Worse comes to worse, we’ll just have to try to come up with something else. But for now,” Jimin gave a groan as he got back up and reached out a hand to the princess. “We need to find this shaman.” 

 

The princess took a deep breath before taking Jimin’s hand and he pulled her to her feet. “Alright Jiminie,” she gave him a determined look, and despite her doubts, she knew he was right. There was no way his wound was going to heal on its own, and they needed to find help. “Come to think of it, I remember the rumors saying it was towards the outskirts near the mountain where he lived.” 

The two of them looked up, and despite the moon being the only source of illumination, it was enough for them both to make out a mountain not too far away. 

“I guess we’d better not waste any time.” Jimin turned back to look at Miyu, and with a shared understanding of what their direction from here was, Jimin slipped his hand into hers and led the way. 

_____________________

 

This moment was the one Taehyung had envisioned for far too long. The one where he finally took a seat upon the throne, and claimed what was rightfully his. But as much as he’d dreamed of this day, it didn’t mean a thing if the princess wasn’t there to rule beside him. No, that’s not how he’d imagined this moment at all, yet he knew it’d be inevitable. 

 

How could the princess still love him after what he’d done? After betraying her in such a cruel way. Deep in his heart, he knew this, yet it didn’t change the fate he’d been dealt with. This was something he’d known for a long time that he needed to do. It’d been planned by his father from as early as he can remember, and it’s always been so. What wasn’t planned was how deeply he’d fallen for the king’s daughter, how in love with her he’d become. There were times he’d cursed his life, his father, his fate. He never wanted to betray the woman he loved, and after years of trying to avoid it, he just couldn’t anymore. 

 

He loved the princess deeply, and in his heart he believed she’d come to understand. He’d make her understand, because he would never give up, not until he had her back and by his side. 

Notes:

Hope you're all enjoying something a little different haha ^_^
Any questions, ask away~ <3

Also, I'll be posting the chapters every couple of days or so the waits won't be long~